Coffee Roasting: How baby plant food transforms into delicious coffee flavours

A mother coffee plant gifts its baby everything it needs to grow—a green seed packed with food. But when we roast coffee, we hijack that gift and turn it into something else: flavor. But what is flavor, at a microscopic level? What actually happens inside the bean when heat meets those nutrients? In this episode, we shrink down to witness the Maillard reaction up close—a wild chain of molecular collisions that transforms baby plant food into aromas we adore. Grab your popcorn - you’re getting a front row seat at the wildest chemistry show in coffee. --------------- Please spread the word about The Science of Coffee! Leave a 5 star rating on Spotify Follow me on Instagram and tag me in an Instagram story Write a review on Apple Podcasts Discover how I make these Filter Stories episodes by subscribing to my Substack newsletter Ethiopian forest sounds curtesy of George Vlad. Hear more nature sounds here. Explore Probat's roasters Go deeper into the science of roasting Do a Certificate of Advanced Studies with the Coffee Excellence Centre Grab a copy of Anja Rahn's upcoming book on coffee science through her Instagram Explore Barista Hustle 's online roasting learning Learn more from Morten Münchow and his coffee roasting courses Read Morten’s paper in collaboration with the University of Copenhagen on Roasting Conditions and Coffee Flavour Follow Sebastian Opitz on LinkedIn Follow Filter Stories on Instagram for my infographics Season 3 is made possible by these leading coffee organizations: The Coffee Quest | BWT | TODDY | Algrano | Probat How does Perfect Moose detect what kind of milk is in the pitcher? Click here to find out. See the Mikafi countertop roaster at the Thermoplan stand (6637) at World Of Coffee Brussels. Not attending? See it here . What does the Marco MilkPal look like to you? WALL-E? Something Steve Jobs would be proud of? Check it out here .

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Coffee Roasting: How baby plant food transforms into delicious coffee flavours is an episode from The Science of Coffee by James Harper.

This episode is 47:43 long.

This episode was published on Mar 10, 2025.

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